Technical digest Scrubbing up nicely P
ower specialist Wärtsilä Corporation and engineering
firm Metso have made the necessary preparations for volume production of marine scrubber systems just as ship owners and operators prepare to meet tough new limits on sulphur emissions from January 2015. At that time, regulations will cap sulphur emissions from fuel burnt in Emission Control Areas (ECAs) to a level corresponding to just 0.1% sulphur content in fuel.
The installation of scrubbers – either as retrofits on board existing tonnage, or as integral components of machinery systems on board new
Cutting SOx
ships – offers an option for owners who do not wish to risk the uncertainty of rising prices for low- sulphur fuel in the future, or possibly re-engining to burn gas. Despite successful trials on a number of ships, however, there are still sceptics who claim that scrubber technology is not yet proven. According to Leonardo Sonzio,
Wärtsilä’s director of Environmental Services, the company has been successfully installing onshore scrubbing technology for 20 years and has significant experience. It has embarked on marine applications ‘with confidence,’ he says. Already, the company has successfully tested a scrubber on board the14,665dwt Neste Oil products tanker, mt Suula, which operated primarily in the Baltic but also visited a range of North Sea ports during the test period, lasting more than 18 months.
Upon successful completion of the trials on board the tanker, the
Wärtsilä scrubber has now become the first such design to be certified for marine applications. The class societies DNV, Germanischer Lloyd and Bureau Veritas have granted the unit a SOx Emissions Compliance Certificate. And last December, the company received its first commercial order from Containerships Ltd Oy, a Finnish customer, which placed a contract for a turnkey installation on board its 14,000dwt cargo vessel Containerships VII. The scrubber was due to be delivered in August. So why is there still doubt about scrubber performance in some quarters? Well, Sonzio suggests it could be because there has been a limited number of applications so far. Shipping is a conservative industry, he says, and there is sometimes a natural reluctance to embrace new technologies. He goes further, suggesting that some of the reticence could be politically motivated in the sense that some in shipping are still hoping for a reprieve from new regulations seen by some as unfair and too harsh on those whose tonnage functions primarily in ECAs. Whether or not to invest in scrubbers is no simple matter and depends on a range of variables, suggests Sonzio, including age of ship, the amount of time spent in ECAs, and suitability for installation on board specific ships. The volume and weight of installations, space in the funnel and possible impact on stability are all issues to be considered, he says. But in the right circumstances, scrubber installation could well constitute the best option. Average unit costs are around $2m depending on engine power, with installation costs on top, but could pay back in a matter of little more than a year or so. Under the terms of the agreement, Metso will supply the scrubber unit whilst Wärtsilä will be responsible for world-wide sales and integration of complete, certified, documented marine scrubber systems, including automation, water treatment and ancillaries.
Offshore wind S
tatistics released by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) show that more than a hundred new offshore wind turbines with total capacity of almost 350MW were connected to the power grids of Germany, Norway and the UK between January and June this year. The power output of turbines is rising, with the average up from 2.9MW a year ago to 3.4MW today. Eleven new wind farms with almost 2,850MW of capacity are currently under construction in European waters,
according to EWEA, costing about u8.5bn ($12.2bn). Meanwhile, Norway’s Statoil is now assessing opportunities for floating offshore wind installations. Per Arne Solund, commercial manager for renewable energy at the state company reveals that its Hywind project, about to complete successful two-year trials off the coast in southern Norway, has affirmed the company’s belief that floating wind power facilities offer significant potential. Statoil is now assessing commercial opportunities in coastal waters off Maine in the US, off the coast of north east Scotland and at various other locations, Solund says. Floating structures comprise a steel jacket filled with ballast extending 100mtr below the sea surface and anchored to the seabed by piles. Floating wind facilities could be sited in water depths of up to 700mtr in due course.
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